Florida deputy resigns after mistaking acorns falling for gunshots, opening fire on suspect: video

 An Okaloosa, Florida, deputy has resigned from his position after an investigation into an officer-involved shooting revealed he mistook the sound of an acorn falling on his cruiser as a gunshot and began shooting at a suspect. Had given.

On November 12, 2023, a woman contacted the Okaloosa Sheriff's Office reporting that her boyfriend, Marquis Jackson, had stolen her vehicle at approximately 8:45 a.m.

Jackson returned to the neighborhood around 9:10 a.m. and responding deputies took him into custody. The deputy handcuffed Jackson and placed him in the back seat of then-Deputy Jesse Hernandez's patrol vehicle.

In video footage captured from Hernandez's body camera, the deputy is seen walking back to his vehicle to conduct a secondary search of Jackson when he heard a pop and thought it was a gunshot.

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Hernandez then began yelling, "Gunshots were fired," several times, falling to the ground and rolling to escape the attack.

"I'm killed! I'm killed!" Hernandez screamed, mistakenly believing he had been shot.

The deputy pointed his gun at his patrol vehicle and began firing at it, shattering the back window.

Sergeant Beth Roberts, who was also on scene, also responded with gunfire toward the vehicle she believed to be a threat after seeing the deputy's reaction.

In a social media post, the sheriff's office said Jackson was able to escape from the vehicle without injury.

The Post said the audible pop made by Acorn could be heard on body camera video and witnesses said they may also have heard a muffled gunshot.

The Sheriff's Office's internal investigation revealed that Hernandez's use of force was objectively not justified. Hernandez ultimately resigned from his position on December 4, 2023.

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The investigation also found that Roberts' use of deadly force was objectively justified, and he was acquitted of any wrongdoing.

The First Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office in the Sheriff's Office also conducted an independent review, which determined there was no probable cause for criminal charges.

Sheriff Eric Eden said in a statement that immediately after the incident, his department began working to determine the sequence of events and the facts that occurred.

He acknowledged how traumatic the incident was for Jackson and everyone else involved, adding that he has included the officer involved in the shooting in department training.

"We are very grateful that Mr. Jackson was not injured, and we have no reason to think that former Deputy Hernandez acted with any malicious intent," Eden said. “Although his actions were ultimately not warranted, we believe he felt his life was in immediate danger and his response was based on the totality of the circumstances surrounding this fear.

"Just as we have an obligation to protect our officers so they can get home safely to their families, law enforcement has the same obligation to any citizen who is being investigated for a crime," the sheriff said.